Does anyone have any recent experience of travelling inland from the coast in Gambia? We're thinking of taking a few days to go east as far as Basse Santa Su. I understand that one option is for us to hire a car and driver.

Any advice about good experiences, pitfalls, places to stop overnight etc. and costs (sterling/usd/euro)would be appreciated.

I rode my bike the entire length of the river. It was a few years back, but I doubt things have changed much. The road on the south side was generally better than the north side. If you got an early start driving you should be able to do it in one day. Basse is (was?) an interesting little town, lots of smugglers passing through on their way to and from various places.

If you don't want to rush through for whatever reason, Georgetown is a good stop for a day. You can take day trips on the river from there, lots of birds and wildlife to see. The Wassu stone circles are near there, although I can't say they were particularly exciting.

Steve Bougerolle <steveb@bougerolle.net>
http://www.bougerolle.net/travel http://www.sebgitech.com http://www.imperialrealms.com